Union, CA Dems Kill Bill to Facilitate Firing Sex Offending Teachers

In a stunning example of truth stranger than fiction, Democrats in the California Assembly killed a bill that would have made it easier to fire teachers accused of serious sexual offenses against children.

The bill SB 1530, had bipartisan support in the Senate, where it passed 33-4, but in a display of strength by the California Teachers Association, six Democrats on the Education Committee either voted against it (Tom Ammiano and Joan Buchanan) or didn’t vote (Betsy Butler, Wilmer Carter, Mike Eng and Das Williams).

The bill followed shocking incidents of sexual abuse in the Los Angeles Unified School District and elsewhere, the worst of which involved Mark Berndt, 61, who’s been accused of 23 acts of lewd acts against children at Miramonte Elementary in the LAUSD.

Under current law, it’s almost impossible to fire teachers facing even the worst of charges.

The bill was narrowly crafted to focus only on cases in which school employees are accused of sex, violence or drug use with children.

Not addressed in the bill is that U.S. students rank 25th in math and 17th in science out of 31 countries, and that the teachers union has steadfastly stood against any type of testing for its members.

Also no mention of the $1 trillion spent on public education annually, billions of which have fallen into the black hole of the teachers union and pension benefits that are bankrupting states.

Last month in Chicago, the teachers union demanded a 30% pay raise after a banner year in which just 15% of fourth graders were proficient in reading.

The average Chicago public school teacher makes $71,000 per year before benefits and the district is facing $700 million in deficits.

The 30% pay raise would bring public school teacher compensation to $92,000 annually before benefits.

NASA astronauts start at $65,000 per year.

The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the country, with an annual budget of over $300 million dollars and is a major funder of liberal organizations and the Democratic Party.